


Pensieve Rumblings

by HighSidhe



Series: Random Snippets and Crossovers [12]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Boggarts, Gen, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sword of Gryffindor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-01-23 20:32:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12515976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighSidhe/pseuds/HighSidhe
Summary: All of my Harry Potter snippets, that don't include crossovers, can be found here. As always, if you see anything you like, don't hesitate to adopt. Drop a link by, I'd love to read whatever you come up with.-----------------Chapter 1: Hermione has a boggart. It's not getting bad grades.Chapter 2: Getting the Sword of Gryffindor has long-lasting repercussionsChapter 3: Harry decides to do something about Umbridge





	1. Boggart

For the first time that she could remember, Hermione loathed a professor. That was saying something considering they had had Quirrel in their first year who had had Voldemort attached to him like a parasite. Quirrel had never humiliated a group of third years in front of their classmates by forcing them to relive their worst fears. Quirrel had never forced her to remember those long months that she had spent petrified, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to even blink. She could remember every hellish second that she had been petrified, and she re-lived them every night in her dreams.

"I don't-" She muttered, staring wide-eyed at the monster a few feet away. It didn't even phase her, although a few of the other girls had hastily backed away from it. "I don't want to do this."

She knew exactly what her worst fear was. She had experienced it every night since she had woken up from being petrified.

"It's alright, no one is going to judge you for what your fears are." Professor Lupin told her kindly. 

She wanted to scream then, shout at him that she didn't care what everyone thought of her worst fear. With the exception of Justin Finch-Fletchey, Colin Creevey, Penelope Clearwater, and possibly Ginny Weasley, if she were feeling generous, none of them had any idea what she had gone through.

Her heart was pounding, as she was propelled forward by one of her classmates. She didn't know who, but she suspected that it wasn't either of her two friends. They at least would understand her reluctance. All of them had their own special fears that had nothing to do with the childish things she had seen from the other third year Gryffindors.

She wished it were something as simple as Professor McGonagall telling her she had failed her homework. 

The boggart shifted.

A small hospital bed from the infirmary had appeared in the room with a smaller figure lying motionless atop it.

It was having difficulty encompassing her fear. To do so, it would have to directly affect her, although to look at the real Hermione, it might have seemed as if it had. 

She had utterly frozen, staring at an outsider's perspective of what she had went through. Hermione felt as if all the air had gone from her chest, and she suddenly found it difficult to breath. It only served to draw her deeper into the memory; every part of her body had been frozen in a single moment. Hermione had spent several months feeling like she needed to take a deep breath and being unable to even do that.

Everything else in the lounge, everyone else seemed to fade as the entirety of her attention focused on that hospital bed.

The tremble started in her shoulders and worked its way down her spine, until it was all she could do to keep herself upright. She wasn't even aware that she was crying until she was standing out in the hall and Harry had his arms wrapped around her. Hermione couldn't recall him ever initiating a hug before, but in that moment, all she could do was cling to him like a lifeline. 

Eventually they found themselves curled up on the floor, Harry talking to her soothingly and Hermione trying to will away the sheer terror that she had felt. 

Neither had any idea of how much time had passed before the lounge was emptying and curious eyes were glancing their way as everyone departed. 

Professor Lupin was the last to leave, and he looked even more worn than usual. "Do you need to go to the hospital wing?" He asked quietly as he knelt beside of them.

Harry quickly shook his head. "Trust me sir, that won't help."

He thankfully didn't push it. "I have some calming draught in my office if you don't mind following me." 

Hermione didn't want to go there either, but she allowed Harry to guide her, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Even then he was still talking to her, his voice soothing. He had done so several times when she was in the hospital wing. 

Professor Lupin didn't pry. Hermione could see that he was curious, not to mention worried, but he didn't ask her what had happened. 

Hermione nudged Harry. He glanced at her with a questioning look in his eyes before nodding and clearing his throat. "I don't know if you heard, but several of the students were petrified last year." He said quietly. "Hermione was one of them."

"Petrified how?" Lupin frowned.

Harry swallowed, lost in his own memories for a moment. "A basilisk."

His eyes widened at that, and a dark scowl crossed his brow, although it was gone a second later. In that brief moment, Hermione got the sense that this wasn't a professor to be crossed, no matter how genial he seemed most of the time. She also got the feeling that he was not pleased with what they had told him.

"Is it still-?"

Harry shook his head. "No, sir. I killed it."

Lupin stared at him faintly. "You killed a basilisk in your second year?" He started to pace around his office.

Harry slowly nodded at that. "It hurt my friend." He answered darkly. 

"I was awake the entire time." Hermione spoke up quietly. "I knew.. I knew what was going on around me." She had only been petrified for a few weeks; she couldn't imagine what it had been like for those that had been petrified for months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta'd
> 
> My absolute refusal to believe that Hermione's boggart is getting bad grades.


	2. Sword of Gryffindor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It has been centuriies since the Sword of Gryffindor tasted blood.

Blood dripped off the tip of the blade as Harry panted. The basilisk had heaved onto its side, its tongue lolling out as a pool of blood spread around its massive head. His eyes slowly flicked towards the older boy.

A surge of something washed over him, and without really even being conscious of what he was doing, he had lifted the blade and was swinging it towards Riddle with all of his might. 

Tom stepped aside, a cool smirk of amusement flashing across his features. "Oh, you want to play at being Gryffindor's White Knight?" He taunted, pointing Harry's wand.

Harry was no longer listening, moving on instinct and some unfamiliar drive that seemed to control his limbs. The sword was heavy in his hands, but it didn't deter him as he lips pulled back into an inhuman snarl.

He swung again, and again, and again. Each time Tom ducked and wove out of the way, but with each subsequent swing, his smile dwindled. The sword left blood-smeared grooves in the stone floor under their feet.

"What are you doing, Potter?" He snarled, narrowly avoiding the blade. "Have you gone mad?"

Harry had not stopped grinning that maddening smile. Every time Riddle tried to duck away far enough to risk a spell, Harry followed him leading with the hungry blade, not even noticing really when Tom tried to block with his wand arm, and the sword sliced the wand in half.

Tom backed away, horror shining in his eyes as he finally started to grasp the scope of Harry's madness. The second year hadn't reacted at all to destroying his own wand and was instead bearing down on him with another swing.

This time, the sword bit into flesh, and the boy howled in pain as he clutched his ruined shoulder. He flinched away, cowering, as Harry reared back for another swing, his eyes seeming to glow an iridescent green in that moment.

It was only when Tom's body hit the floor that Harry seemed to come back to himself.

He stared around the room bewildered. The basilisk was dead. Tom was dead. Ginny was.. Merlin, he hoped she wasn't dead. He rushed to her side, kneeling down beside of her. She was breathing shallowly, but only just. 

But.. Tom was dead. Why hadn't she woken up? 

There was something he was missing, something important. Harry glanced around frantically. No sooner had he spotted the diary but he was lunging towards it and driving the sword through it.

It let out a ghastly scream as ink gushed out of it. He was distracted by the sound of Ginny gasping and choking behind him, and for a moment he was afraid that she really was dying, but no. She had rolled over to one side and was throwing up.

"Is he gone?" She asked once she had gotten herself under control.

Harry eyed Riddle's body and glanced down at the sword. "I think so."

She sat up, staring around her in mounting horror. "Harry is that-?" Shakily she pointed at the basilisk.

Harry nodded. "It's dead. Fawkes pecked out its eyes and I stabbed it." He had stabbed a lot of things, come to think of it. He could see signs of a sword fight, of all things, all across the floor. What in the name of Merlin had happened here, and why couldn't he remember any of it.

"Your wand!" She gasped in horror, picking up the pieces that had been neatly sliced in half. "Oh Harry,"

Harry swallowed, staring at it. How? When? How was he going to get another one? 

"I don't remember how that happened." He would have almost said that Voldemort had broke it, but it was far too neat to be a break. Had he-? He glanced down at the sword that he couldn't seem to let go of.

"I think we had better get out of here." He muttered pocketing the remains of his wand and the diary. 

"Yeah.." She agreed immediately. The two made their way back to where Ron had been working on the boulders in the path. After a happy reunion between the siblings, they all set to work clearing the path and between the three of them, were able to get them moved fairly quickly.

Lockhart, even in an obliviated state, was next to useless.

Harry was in a daze most of the evening, not really registering much of anything. It was only when they tried to take the sword away from him that he really acted. 

When he came to again, it was to see the bodies of Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, as well as the Weasley's. Harry stumbled back, nearly tripping over the body of Lucius Malfoy in the doorway. Sword still in hand, he fled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta'd. 
> 
> Because who doesn't love a murderous sentient sword that will probably eventually turn on its wielder.


	3. Umbridge-itis

Harry idly traced the words scarred over the back of his hand. Umbridge was fast becoming a problem and it didn't take a geniius to see who else had suffered her detentions. In the corner, a couple of first years were huddled together, one of them sniffling and rubbing his nose. Harry could see pink skin on the back of his hand from where he was sitting.

Normally he didn't bother with the professors much. They were useless, but that generally served his purposes and allowed him a much freer reign than he might have otherwise had. Indifference was one thing, but Umbridge was making herself a threat to his operations.

The twins had already suffered detentions aplenty, he had heard, which had delayed more than one shipment of smuggled goods into Hogwarts.

If there was one thing guaranteed to make Harry sit up and take notice, it was a threat to the little empire he had been building since his third year.

Simply put, Umbridge needed to go. Running her out would be simple enough. The twins would be more than happy to drive her out of the school, and Harry imagined that they might even cross some lines in doing so, thus tying them even closer to him. Blackmail went a long way in securing loyalties, after all. Had she not targeted him personally, he might have allowed the twins their shot at the loathsome woman.

But she had, and Harry felt the urge to deal with this personally. 

He wanted to ruin the woman, guarantee that she would never be able to show her face in society again. And she had even done half of his work for him by announcing to all who would listen the easiest way to strike her to the bone. 

Acquiring the necessary ingredients might be tricky, but then that was what he had the twins for.

0-0-0-0

"Are you... Sure about this?" One of them asked with a dubious expression.

"This doesn't seem safe." 

Harry nodded, completely serious. "It's for Umbridge." 

There was a beat of silence as they considered this. "You are evil, mate. I don't know if anyone has ever told you that." 

"It's been mentioned a few times." He waved it off. 

They looked disturbed by the lengths he was willing to go to, but he secured their agreement. Money went a long way and these two had *plans* after Hogwarts. 

Harry did not mentioned that he had his own plans concerning their plans. But then they already knew that, or at least suspected. If anyone had an inkling of even half of his operations in Hogwarts, it was likely these two.

0-0-0-0

Two months later, they cornered him outside the common room with a package. "It took some doing, but we got it." One of them said, giving a nervous glance around him.

"Be careful with that." His twin warned, "That'll have some nasty side effects."

Harry smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. "That's what I'm counting on." 

They were quick to leave, shooting him worried glanced. Harry briefly considered that maybe this request might have gone too far for their comfort. But.. They had pulled through, nonetheless. He would have to make sure his next requests were harmless. That shouldn't be too difficult though, Hogwarts did enjoy her alcohol after, all.

Harry pocketed the small vial. 

Time to move onto the next phase of the plan.

0-0-0-0

Umbridge's personal quarters were not a place he had ever wanted to be in, especially not while she herself was occupying them. Harry resolved to scrub his mind, and possibly get the twins to obliviate him afterwards. 

She was asleep, and her snores echoed off the wall. Harry actually felt a sliver of pity for the tacky cat portraits. All of them, to an animal, were cowering with her paws pressed over their ears. Having to deal with this day after day.. Harry would have gone homicidal, personally, and he had grown up listening to Uncle Vernon's ear-shattering snores.

He withdrew the vial that the twins had procured from within his robes. Harry picked up a quill from the table and examined it for a moment, before transfiguring it into a muggle syringe. 

He careully poured the contents of the vial into the syringe and capped it. A predatory smirkk crossed his lips as he approached the bed, sneering down at the woman dressed in a hideously pink lacy nighty. 

Merlin, the images....

Harry pressed the needle into her neck and compressed the plunger, injected her. She shifted slightly, but didn't wake up. Finished, he transfigured the quill back and left it where he had found it.

Now all he had to do was wait.

0-0-0-0

Two weeks later, over breakfast, Harry noted Umbridge's cagey attitude over breakfast, the sheer exhaustion in her eyes and the way her arms trembled as she devoured everything in sight. He noted the faux-concerned looks the other professors sent her.

He sent out the remainder of the payment that he owed the twins for a job well done. 

That night, as she slept, he crept into her room again and left a note lying on her desk. 

_That was your only warning. The next detention will be your last._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta'd
> 
> It's vague, I know, but he injected her with werewolf venom. Since Umbridge has no idea how she got infected, she spends the rest of the semester looking for would-be assassins.
> 
> Also, I intentionally did not mention what house this version of Harry is in. I leave it up to your imagination.


End file.
